Cupertino Big Bunny 5K 2026: that one on Coros!

That was race #390 in my log, which includes 210 ultras like 85 50Ks, but it was only my 23rd 5K: I see some room for an aging runner! :-) That was also my 10th participation to this event since 2002, not counting 2 Cupertino Heroes 5K in 2016 and 2017. 2002, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 25 and 26. It's literally on the same block I live so the logistics is really easy for that one. It even allowed me to finish watching France-Scotland until the end at 8 am! (For those who don't follow, that would be the 4th round of the 6 Nations rugby tournament.) Last year I was back in shape after my meniscus issue which got me off running for 7 months in 2024 but at least I was uplifted by watching the French win their game. This year, they finally lost for the first time, so I had to revert back to my own spirit. And my GPS watch.

I still have to write my race report of the 100-mile Nationals in Vegas 2 weeks ago. The past 2 weeks haven't been so great for running. Last week I shared that I spent Saturday on mushy snow at Royal Gorge. Before that, I even hurt my lower back by carrying a 100-lb box. And I got an ear infection after Royal Gorge. With that, I had run only 51 miles since that 100-mile race and still felt quite tired. So much that I took Friday off, hoping that would freshen my legs enough for a faster pace.

I got to the start line at 8:25 and it was already packed with really young kids. Who, like every year, struggled for air before the first turn, 200 yards in. I got two scares approaching that first corner because, mind you, when these kids can't keep up, they typically change direction, or lane, yikes! Anyway, it was a good start overall, no fall, and I settled in 10th place, 400 yards in, phew!

On Blaney, I closed on a runner who had told me before the start that he wasn't 60 yet (that would Ahmet Gokcek, #1578). But we got passed by a runner (#1226) wearing noisy carbon plates and, more importantly, having grey hair, so I was worried about my age group. That led me to push harder and not let him go too far ahead. With that, my Coros watch gave me a 5:59 split for the first mile, not too bad (I PR'ed on the marathon with a 6:01 average pace but that was 23 years ago... With my focus on ultra running, even sub 7-minute miles are rare.)

I was able to close the small gap before the end of the second mile and kept pushing. I was now in 4th, only seeing 3rd place ahead. On the Suisun Drive stretch, passed 2.5 miles, I suddenly felt deep in the red zone and had to ease on the gas pedal, creating a bigger gap with 3rd. At the turn on Fallone Drive, I looked behind and saw a runner not too far behind but what still looked like a safe margin for the remaining third of a mile. Well, I finished 2 seconds ahead in the results, that was a close call. (Thank you for the pics on the course, Agnès!)

I crossed the finish with a time of 18:28, 4th overall, 2nd Masters, 1st M60. And why did I plug Coros in the title? Because, at the beginning of the week, I incidentally noticed that Coros was forecasting 18:47 for the distance. Pretty close, not to mention the course was on the short side, with 3.06 on my watch. Good news is that they also lowered their marathon forecast down to 3:01:27: still quite some work to keep rebuilding leg muscles but there is hope for getting back to my "law" of running a marathon in 2 hours plus my age in minutes (that would be 3:02...). Anyway, I like pushing to see if I can prove Coros wrong, nice physical and mental push!

The race was won by Raphael Serrano again, in 16:27. He won the 2024 edition in 16:43. Another Cupertino resident and quite a fixture of this race, Jonathan Kimura, 45, placed 2nd in 16:57 (2nd in 2025 in 16:31, 3rd in 2024 with 16:57, 2nd in 2023 with 16:33, and a win in 2022 with 16:47, amazing regularity!). 3rd place was Justin Pham, 28, in 17:48. Jon on the left, Raphael in yellow:

That 5th place runner, right behind me, was Everett Jou, 15, with a time of 18:30. He did beat me last year with a time of 18:51. He had just turned 14 at the end of March 2024 while already running under 20 minutes (19:58). I wouldn't bet too much on me beating him next year, the youths are phenomenal at this race!

Bib 1226 was Bo Li, 55, who finished in 6th place, 8 seconds behind Everett. Ahmet was mere 8 seconds behind for 8th overall. Competitive M50 age group this year!

All results were promptly posted by SVE Timing thanks to chip timing. Previous years' results are available on the Cupertino website, back to 2013.

Before the award ceremony, I went back on the course to run a second loop in 20:50 (6:42 pace). Then, after the awards, race an easy half marathon at 7:45 min/mile, in the neighborhood. And the bunny was finally tired... ;-)

I love this lowkey race on my block and my training backyard. Such a refreshing change of pace and emulation which keeps us on our toes. They were several years which conflicted with my 7 Boston marathons, less conflicts nowadays that the event got moved earlier in March, and before Easter. Special thanks to the city and Parks & Rec team which put this event up, year after year. Was great to see almost 600 entrants, with many smiles at the finish! Hope to see you all again next year then, you got this!

In Helen and Norm Klein's honor!

No, no, no, I didn't write in memoriam in the title, both are well alive! Agnès was attending and presenting at the California Language Teacher Association conference in Sacramento this week, so I had some time for myself to celebrate my birthday. My big goal was to finally do my first snowshoe race on Sunday morning in South Lake Tahoe. The Sierras got an amazing amount of snow last weekend but it then warmed up and it rained on Tuesday and Wednesday. The temperature kept raising for the rest of the week, jeopardizing much of that fresh snow. I contacted the race directors on Friday evening and they confirmed that a snowshoe version was unlikely, that they may have to switch back to a trail race instead. But 4 hours of driving for a 5K trail race didn't make it worth for me so, instead, I decided to drive to Royal Gorge on Saturday morning for some XC skiing instead. More on this later in this post. On the way back, I wanted to see if I could stop by Norm and Helen Klein's to see how they were doing.

After running ultra marathons since 2006, I still consider myself a newbie in that sport which had been going strong throughout the last century. And with that, I have a lot of respect for the athletes who preceded us on our local trails in particular. Some of them were actually done with competing but remained actively involved through volunteering or race directing (e.g., Norm Klein). Some even gave their names to key races (e.g., Ruth Anderson, Dick Collins and... Helen Klein!).

Helen was born in 1923 and, yes, this isn't a typo, that makes her 103 years old. She started running at 55 and she would end up putting her mark on the Long Distance Running Masters history by setting world records in the marathon for ages such as 80 and 85 (a whopping total of 75 national and world records). She ran 90 marathons and quite a few ultra marathons too (she shows 102 results on UltraSignup, including 11 100-mile races, but this article mentions 143 ultras). She has been inducted in the USA Track & Field Masters' Hall of Fame.

Norm has run many ultra marathons too (28 results on UltraSignup including Western States 1984) but, when I started, his main fame was to direct classics such as Last Chance 50-mile, Rio del Lago 100-mile, and the Helen Klein Classic 50-miler, all along the American River, close to their home in Rancho Cordova. The main memory I kept from these events was Norm's toughness toward the runners, but it was his friendly way to challenge us to test our limits. When I took 2nd at Rio del Lago 2008, I also remember him instructing I receive an IV right after the finish... And the awards at his races were also particularly memorable!

Long story short, the number I had for Helen and Norm was discontinued so I activated a few ultra connections, to no avail on Saturday evening. This Sunday morning, I decided to take my (Last...) chance and drive to Rancho Cordova. To my good surprise, I was delighted to see Norm opening his door, and wearing a Western States volunteer t-shirt like he was waiting for me! Unfortunately, we stay on his door step as he shared he was tied-up, taking care of Helen who had recently returned from yet another trip to the hospital. A couple of years ago, they were running together when she tripped on the trail and broke her hip. A few weeks ago, she fell again at home and broke 3 ribs. And fell again a few days ago. The challenge of aging at home... He offered I stop by again, but with more notice. Next time I also hope to get a tour of the backyard, and hear Norm share his passion for cactuses! The front yard is already so impressive! (See Gerhard Bock's extensive post.)

Needless to say, I didn't see Helen this time. She and Norm needs all our prayers, thoughts and best wishes!

Still, reassured that they were still at home, I parked at the nearby Sunrise Park area for an 8-mile run along the river. Not much of a distance to brag about but, including a couple of sub 7 min miles and a few stops for pictures, that's all the time I had before the hotel check-out time and attending the end of Agnès presentation. 

Running this section along the American River brought back so many memories from the races I named above, plus American River 50 and Folsom Lake 100K. My 5:43 PR at Last Chance 50-mile, thanks to the friendly emulation with Victor (Ballesteros). Rio del Lago which was my 2nd 100-miler, after Western States in 2007. Miles run during the day or at night. In the sun or the rain. With Folsom Lake being dangerously low, or full like it is today. Ultra memories of all the crews and volunteers helping us along...

Quite a special day to celebrate! I missed the opportunity to finally do a snowshoe race, and on my special day but, global warming permitting, there will be other years.

Now, what's up with snowshoeing? 2 years ago, Jason Reed, after a couple of unsuccessful years, convinced me to buy a pair of racing snowshoes, hoping I will like it so I could join him at one of the world championships which he has attended himself for a few years. That was early 2024, a few weeks before I tore/cut one of my left meniscus... right on my 60th birthday! Needless to say, with 7 months off running after that, the snowshoes remained in the garage.

No more, they finally hit the snow. Not really fresh snow as temperatures were in the 50s on Saturday, but snow anyway. After 8 miles of XC skiing, I went back on the trails for a 5K in snowshoes. To be honest, I found it exhausting: not sure if it was the nature of the snow, heavy and wet slush, or the elevation (7,000 feet), or being tired because of the faded XC skiing skills, I had to alternate running and walking for a pace between 12 and 14 min/mile, yikes! Granted, the trail included a few climbs, but still. I'll have to practice more. At least I was really pleased with the stability of the snowshoes, I only hit my ankles a handful of times.

By the way, Carol, the Race Director of that Fresh Track 5K race, emailed me on Saturday evening that they had managed to mark a 5K course in deep, not groomed, snow. Advising to do it with poles and even a buddy to get you back on your feet in case of fall. That didn't seem as close as snowshoe racing as I had imagined so I did pass on the invite this time. It will be on February 28 next year.

74 people posted good wishes on my Facebook wall this weekend, I wanted to write this up as a reply to all, short of replying individually to all, tonight. Hoping Helen and Norm share many more of their own birthdays together, what an honor to know them, such an inspirational and legendary ultra couple!

PS: oh, and in our small and connected ultra world, see who was working at Royal Gorge, Diana Fitzpatrick!